Cazenovia boys basketball improves to 5-2 with win over Institute of Technology Central

CAZENOVIA - Cazenovia's boys basketball team was joined on the court by a group of second-grade players during the national anthem prior to a league game against the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central.

The Lakers sent their young fans home happy with a 63-55 victory over the Eagles. Ryman Seeley led the way for Cazenovia, scoring 24 points while Andrew Vogl added 14.

"Ryman Seeley and Andrew Vogl definitely sparked us in the second and third quarters," said Cazenovia coach Paul Harney. "Ryman's been consistent all year coming off the bench. He's the team's leading scorer."

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As well as Seeley and Vogl played, it was Kevin Hopsicker jumpstarting the hosts' offense in the first quarter. He scored Cazenovia's first seven points, including a 3-pointer and an acrobatic reverse lay-up to put his team up 7-1. He also set up the Lakers' next basket with a nice pass to Jeff Dewan on the baseline. Dewan hit the jump shot and a Seeley 3-pointer moments later gave Cazenovia a 12-3 lead.

However, the Eagles' press kept the game from getting out of hand. The Lakers committed 12 turnovers in the second quarter while managing only six shots. Meanwhile, Algernon Torrence and Lucas Irizarry each scored a pair of baskets in the final four minutes of the second quarter to cut Cazenovia's lead to six points at halftime.

"It was sporadic at best," said Harney of his team's performance. "We don't know how to put it together for 32 minutes yet."

The Lakers came back strong in the third quarter, but not before Irizarry made a pair of plays to get the lead down to four. After scoring inside the senior recorded a steal on the ensuing possession. He made a long pass that was juggled before Torrence came up with it and laid it in the basket.

It was as close as the Eagles would get, as the Cazenovia's offense took off from there. Hopsicker and Seeley got things going with great assists on baskets by Dewan and Vogl. Seeley added a pair of free throws to push the lead to 10 midway through the third quarter. IT had a chance to cut into the deficit again, but poor free throw shooting and a pair of baskets by Seeley and another by Vogl allowed the hosts to take a 48-34 lead into the fourth quarter.

Emmanuel Flowers and his Eagles teammates made things interesting in the fourth quarter. The senior repeatedly got to the free throw line in the fourth, converting three of his six attempts. Three-pointers by Kyseem Robinson and Irizarry cut the lead to nine with 3:08 to play. Seeley stepped up from there, going 4-4 from the line before a Vogl lay-up and two free throws sealed the victory.